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February 2, 2006 Elam Bend Conservation Area: McFall, Missouri Photographer: Dan Bush Equipment: Nikon D70 Camera & Lenses This page is designed more for web browsers on Desktops. Cell phone browser views are problematic. |
A rainbow in the sky: - William Wordsworth |
| As I pulled the truck up next to one of my favorite trees I looked over my left shoulder and there sat the most vivid rainbow that I had ever seen. It appeared to me to be about 100 yards away or maybe even closer. I was unable to get a great shot at first. I couldn't get out of the truck with the camera because it was still raining fairly hard. I didn't want to get water on my lenses. Due to the low altitude of the setting sun the red color of this rainbow was more vivid than the other colors. Notice that the colors of the secondary rainbow are opposite in order of the primary rainbow colors with red appearing on the inside of the bow. Also notice that the sky inside of a rainbow is much brighter than the area outside. For more information about rainbows go HERE. |
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| The pictures above are the first photos that I took. It shows the apparent close proximity of the right flank of the rainbow. That tree line is about 1500 feet away from me as measured on an aerial photo. |
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| I have never seen a rainbow this close before other than one created by artificial sources of water such as a garden hose or sprinkler. NOTE: No pot of gold was found as a result of this event. |
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| Above is a fisheye lens view of the rainbow including the old tree near the road. The hill behind me put part of my surroundings in shadow. This was my first ever shot of a complete rainbow. No other camera or lens that I have ever owned was capable of taking such a shot where both flanks of the rainbow were seen all the way down to the ground. As an added attraction this was a double rainbow which is most often the case. |
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| This is a photo of the left flank of the
rainbow. The rain had moved beyond the tree
line at this point. These tall trees are near the southern bank of the Grand River as it runs to the east near Elam Bend. |
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| I moved closer to
the tree with the fisheye lens for this
composition. The secondary rainbow is still there but is disappearing fairly quickly. |
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As the rain moved on and the rainbow dissipated the view was still picturesque to the east. Notice that a small portion of the rainbow (primary and secondary) is still visible on either side of the tree paralleling the trunk. |
A ghostly red hue lit up the landscape as
the sun set deeper and deeper in the west.
Even though the rainbow was pretty much gone the sky
still continued to put on a show of color. |
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| This image shows the sky as it looked to
the south after the sun was below the
horizon. Rarely is an evening rainbow not followed by such a scene. |
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| Above are
summertime views of the same tree at Elam Bend
shot in 2005. The name "Elam Bend"
is a descriptive place name that describes a
sharp bend in the Grand River that occurs
here. The river has changed its course in
this area several times including a major shift
as a result of the flooding in 1993.
This area is also listed in the book Geologic
Wonders and Curiosities of Missouri as a
"shut-in" where the river valley narrows
considerably with bluffs very near the
river. You can see the area including the
tree using the Google map link shown
below. The tree appears as a black
dot in a tan colored field near the bend in the
road. The map should be centered right on
the tree. The tree has suffered much
damage since the images were taken due to harsh
winter ice storms. Google Map of the Area YouTube Video of the Tree in 2009 |
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| A wide panorama looking north of the Elam Bend Conservation Area taken in January of 2014. The tree in the rainbow photo is at the left. The McFall water tower can be seen on the horizon on the right side of the image. The white windmills near King City can be seen on the horizon to the left of the image. The GoPro fisheye lens used in this image makes objects look farther away than they really are. It's fairly easy to tell the difference between old growth wooded areas and new growth in this view. New growth areas have grown in just recently (10 years) due to the meandering of the Grand River. |
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| A final view looking
south showing the Elam Bend Conservation Area and
the "shut ins" part of the Grand River. |
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| A more recent view (2015) of the Grand River at Elam Bend looking east at sunrise. |
| Popularity and
fraudulent claims: The photos that were
taken on this evening have become very popular on
the internet. These rainbow images have been
used hundreds if not thousands of times on the
internet for personal and commercial purposes
without my permission. I have received
thousands of requests to use the images, especially
the ones taken with a fisheye lens, in various
projects. One image was even spread throughout
the web in a "chain letter" type e-mail. I did
not start this e-mail. Visits to this web page
and other Missouri Skies pages of mine have soared
into the tens of millions since these shots were
taken. This has brought with it both good and
bad experiences for me. Back in 2009 I was even accused on national New Zealand television and the internet of stealing one of these images from a woman in Auckland (3rd image from the top). I was shocked that this happened. Needless to say I complained about this. They have since removed the video that claimed that I stole the image and admitted that I am the rightful owner after viewing my evidence. I received quite a bit of hate mail accusing me of plagiarism and theft because of this story. My brother summed up the irony in the whole mess by pointing out that they (TVNZ) used my photos without my permission in order to do a news story about using someone else's photos without permission.
Below are 12 ways that I used to prove that I created the photo.
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